2026 Goals & Word of the Year

I have always loved the start of a new year—fresh beginnings, new chances, goals, opportunities…

But who says we need to wait until January 1st to become better versions of ourselves? During this time of civil unrest in our world, don’t we owe it—not only to ourselves but to the world—to work on that every day of the year? While I am by nature a list-maker and goal-setter, I confess to doing exactly that to start the new year, but after 60 years, I’ve finally convinced myself it’s okay to change mid-month, mid-year, mid-quarter, heck, even mid-day. It’s not only okay to pivot from what’s not working and toward what can serve us better, but we owe it to ourselves from a place of acceptance and love.

The last quarter of 2025 brought a lot of life-altering health challenges and wake-up calls for our family, leading me to pivot to new horizons. It’s caused my priorities to shift, and the peace it’s brought me proves it’s a good shift.

What’s remained a constant, though, is choosing a word of the year. My word for 2026 is…Overcome.

“A challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it.”
― Ray A. Davis

One of my goals for 2026 is to read at least eight nonfiction books, three of them classics. I’m leaning toward Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. These choices aren’t set in stone, though, so if any of you have suggestions, I’m wide open!

Another goal is to learn piano. I’ve played the flute since 5th grade, so I can read music, which should work to my benefit. But piano has always been on my bucket list. Let’s see if you really can teach an old dog new tricks. 🙂

Let’s talk…

Do you set goals for the new year? If you do, to what lengths do you go to achieve those goals? Do you veer off-course as life sometimes demands, or are you able to stay the course?

Do you set a word of the year? If so, what is your word for 2026?

Also, don’t forget to leave any recommendations on classics you’ve enjoyed.

Until next time…